Conventional lawns are the norm, even in areas that aren’t particularly suited for them — like here in Southern California.

They’re expensive, high-maintenance and not the most environmentally friendly landscaping option. It’s estimated by the EPA that Americans spend around 70 hours mowing lawns annually, and pour nine billion gallons of water on their lawns and outdoor landscaping each day. More than half of residential water use in California goes to keeping turf alive, and many of us rely on fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to keep those lawns green and weed-free.

It makes a lot of sense to consider alternatives to a traditional lawn. Non-grass alternatives save time and money, reduce contact with harmful chemicals, and limit environmental impact. Replacing or reducing the size of your lawn is (ironically) one of the greenest things you can do as a homeowner, and using rock and stone is one of your best options — especially if you’re looking to save time on upkeep. You can easily replace existing grass or organic mulch with stone mulch in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Stone mulch reduces erosion and can prevent organic mulch and soil in your flowerbeds from washing away.

You can easily replace existing grass or organic mulch with stone mulch in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. (iStock)

You can easily replace existing grass or organic mulch with stone mulch in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. (iStock)

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You can easily replace existing grass or organic mulch with stone mulch in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. (iStock)

Once you determine where you want to incorporate stone mulch, lay landscape fabric down in those areas. In most cases, you’ll be able to lay it down right on top of existing groundcover. If you’re putting stone mulch over existing turf, cut the grass as short as possible and lay the fabric right over it — once topped with stone, this will effectively kill the grass beneath it. The fabric will keep most weeds down, though tenacious ones will occasionally pop through.

Lay the fabric over the area to be covered, pulling it tight and securing it with landscape clips (which look like oversized staples). You want a reasonably tight fit against the existing ground cover, and it’s a good idea to overlap individual pieces of fabric to ensure there are no spaces left for green growth to squeeze through. Once that’s done, you can begin laying stone mulch overtop it.

Laying stone mulch is simple — just dump it over the area to be covered and use a rake to distribute and flatten it out. Stone mulch may have a tendency to collect debris, but can easily be kept clean with a rake or a leaf blower (provided you’re using stones heavy enough to not be blown away). Bear in mind that some stone mulches contain limestone and shouldn’t be used around plants that prefer acidic soil.

Stone mulch comes in many different colors and sizes, and you can buy several varieties and alternate or mix them together for visual appeal. If you’re laying down stone mulch as a walkway or want to extend or expand a driveway, choose angular stones over round ones, as in time they’ll pack together to create a firm surface, whereas round stones will remain loose.

You have a lot of options here, like pea gravel, river rock, or crushed granite, which are the most popular and common choices. Pea gravel has a smooth texture and a lot of natural color variation and is an affordable and attractive choice for anything from driveways to planting beds. River rock also varies quite a bit in color and comes in a variety of sizes, and can be used in planting beds, for edging, or can be placed around larger flagstones, bricks, or other pavers used for a walkway.

Crushed granite is typically various shades of gray, but is also available in earth tones and muted reds. It’s economical, making it a great choice for covering larger areas. A relatively novel type of “stone” mulch is made out of recycled glass, which is first cleaned, broken down, and then tumbled to remove sharp edges. It’s available in a variety of colors and sizes and can make a stunning addition to your yard, especially in bright colors when used along a walkway.

For stone walkways, brick, flagstone, sandstone, and concrete pavers are good choices, and will only require occasional sweeping to keep clean. You can mix or match colors, shapes, and materials for aesthetic effect, or use different kinds of pavers to delineate distinct areas. Be sure to choose a surface with enough texture so it won’t be slick when wet, especially if the walkway is near a pool or water feature. You’ll also want to avoid very dark colors, as these can become too hot for bare feet in the summer.

To lay a stone walkway, determine the area the path will cover, put down around two inches of sand, then set stones approximately six to eight inches apart. Use a level on each stone for proper orientation. With the level held parallel to any nearby structure, you’ll want the bubble to be right in the middle, indicating the stone is on an even grade. Holding the level perpendicular to the structure, you want the bubble to be a little on the high side toward the structure, which indicates just enough tilt to allow water to flow off and away from any buildings.

Once the stones are placed, lay a weed barrier on top, carefully cutting holes around the edges of each stone. Cover the weed barrier with more sand or small pebbles, which should be deep enough to cover the barrier but still slightly lower than the surface of the stepping stones. You may want to install edging to keep the pebbles in place over time, and there are a wide variety of options here, from minimalist black strip edging in plastic or metal to brick pavers or cobblestones for a more rustic look.

If you must have a patch of natural grass, choose drought-resistant strains like buffalo grass, switchgrass, or zoysia (and consider a push mower over a gasoline-powered version). Stone landscaping allows for a lot of choice and creativity and enables you to have an inviting, visually appealing yard with little or no natural grass.

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